IS claims Quetta bomb attack

IS claims Quetta bomb attack QUETTA: The militant Islamic State (IS) group said Friday it was behind a roadside bomb that injured 13 people in Quetta, the SITE Intelligence Group said, days after a major attack in the city killed 73.

The latest explosion on a bridge in the city on Thursday injured four police personnel and nine passers-by, in an attack apparently targeting a judge.

Site reported that the IS group claimed the attack on its Telegram channel, al-Bayan Radio and Twitter.

The attack came just days after a suicide bombing at a hospital on Monday also claimed by the IS killed 73 people, most of them senior lawyers gathered to mourn a colleague gunned down earlier in the day.

Quetta has been plagued by roiling insurgencies and hit by regular militant attacks in the past few months.

Lawyers are among the only people shining a spotlight on the province’s many problems and have come under frequent attack.

Monday’s bombing was also claimed by the Jamaatul Ahrar faction of the Pakistani Taliban and analysts have been unclear on whose claim was more credible.

IS militants have been struggling to gain a foothold in Pakistan, facing competition from well-established extremist groups such as the Pakistani Taliban.